Man Forges Kanye West’s Signature to Steal $900,000: Report

UPDATE: The man accused of scamming Kanye West out of $900,000 is telling his side of the story. The alleged culprit, now identified as Malik Yusef, a former associate of West's, was stopped by TMZ on Friday night (Feb. 8) and he denied doing anything nefarious.

Yusef claims he was actually working on Kanye's behalf when he tried to negotiate a six-figure deal with fashion designer Philipp Plein. But when West seemed like he was going to pull out, Yusef called off the deal. He alleges he didn't pocket any of the money and in fact sent the funds back.

Hear Malik Yusef's side of the story below.

ORIGINAL STORY: Fashion designer Philipp Plein apparently believed the Kanye West had signed on to perform at a show during New York Fashion Week in exchange for a seven-figure paycheck. Now, according to a report TMZ published today (Feb. 8), we've learned that someone forged 'Ye's signature on the documents in a plot to pocket the money.

Sources close to the situation allege that a man, who was a former friend of Kanye's and an associate of G.O.O.D. Music, misrepresented himself as the Chicago rapper's point of contact in a phone call to Plein and began negotiating rates for 'Ye to perform for a hefty price. Plein allegedly accepted the deal and the man reportedly forged Kanye's signature and sent it back to Plein, who then gave the green light for a $900,000 advance to be wired to him. 'Ye's faux associate collected the money as soon as the advance hit his bank account.

As far as we know, Kanye, who recently made known his issues with his current problems with EMI Publishing, is not performing at the event, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars Plein allegedly threw down are now gone.

This news comes a day after it was reported that Kanye and his wife Kim Kardashian-West had backed out of a deal for their $14 million condo. According to reports, they are now looking for a more private space where they'll be free from invasive photographers.